The Bookman’s Tale Reviewed By Francesca Pelaccia of Bookpleasures.com

Francesca Pelaccia

Reviewer
Francesca Pelaccia: Francesca is the author of The Witch's Salvation.
She enjoys reading everything from the literary to genres of all
types and blogs on the craft of writing. By day she teaches ESL to adult learners. Follow Here To Find Out More About Francesca.

The
Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett tells the story of Peter Byerly a
recently widowed American antiquarian bookseller who, if it hadn’t
been for his wife Amanda, would have been virtually invisible and
quite content with it. The novel begins when Peter opens an
eighteenth century book on forgeries in Hay-on-Wye, England where he
has gone to pull himself together after the death of his wife. In the
book he finds an equally old watercolour but of his dead wife. To
verify the identity of the woman Peter begins by trying to name the
elusive artist who simply goes by the initials B.B. His
investigation, however, leads him to an even greater mystery when he
comes across a copy of the Pandosto by Robert Greene with marginalia
that may have been written by Shakespeare. If this copy of the
Pandosto and the marginalia prove to be authentic, it could become
the greatest find in English literature and prove beyond any doubt
that Shakespeare was indeed the author of his works.

The
Bookman’s Tale follows three plot lines. Peter in the present,
trying to overcome his grief and find the answers to the mystery of
the watercolour and the Pandosto; Peter in the past, a passive
character, learning the trade of restoring books and their historic
value and his relationship with Amanda; and the history of the
Pandosto told through the lives and perspectives of all its owners
through the centuries. There is mystery in The Bookman’s Tale but
the novel is really about Peter and what amounts to his own personal
journey to push himself beyond the limits of his grief and more
importantly his social limitations while finding the holy grail of
literature—proof that Shakespeare authored his works.

For
most of the novel, the historical sections were more intriguing than
Peter’s plot lines. There was life, energy, and interesting
characters/situations in the historical sections. Identifying with
Peter and sympathizing with him was difficult until the last third
when he starts to take matters into his own hands and push himself
beyond his comfort zone. At that point I found myself applauding
Peter and glad that he was shaking off his grief and coming out of
his shell.

The
Bookman’s Tale is an interesting and fast read, which brings
attention to forgeries in the world of literature as real,
cut-throat, and exacting as those in the more glamorous world of art.